Perry Mason and the Case of the Bottle Digger
by perrymasonbuff
Summary: This is the story of a young lady and some land and a murder mystery
1. Chapter 1

Eugene Barker was just twenty-five years old and seriously contemplating getting married. He had met the girl that he thought would make him a good wife and make him happy. He loved her very much and he was sure that she felt the same way.

Her name was Lisa Wallace and she was the girl of his dreams. She was funny and kind and enjoyed many of the same things that he did. They had met at work and had become good friends right away. Until he had met Lisa he had never thought that there was anything known as love at first sight. But, the first time that he had seen her something clicked.

The two of them had sat together from day one and as the weeks had gone by they had become known as the company couple. They had discovered that they both had many of the same interests. She was a bottle collector as he was. He had never met any other woman who was interested in digging for old bottles. She had her own little sight, as did he where she had been digging for the past five years.

The two of them went digging and then cleaned them each and everyday almost. Working in a hole digging for something that had been dumped as trash nearly 100 years ago was something that took someone special. But as they spent more and more time together, they found out that they both were big fans of the old television shows and movies that were in black and white.

Today the two of them were going to be going out to dinner at one of their favorite Chinese food places. Gene was in the middle of getting ready to pick Lisa up when he was surprised to see that she was calling him. He picked up the phone and she said that she was cancelling the dinner date for that night. Something had come up and she was sorry.

Gene was disappointed that Lisa had cancelled their plans that evening. She had never done that before . He sat down in his living room and turned on the television. It was strange that a lady who had just come into his life a few short months ago was now leaving an empty spot in his heart. He missed her very much and considering that he had just seen her not two hours ago he shook his head.

Lisa had not wanted to cancel the date, but she felt that she needed to. She had met and been dating Gene for several months now. He was kind and gentle and treated her like a lady. She had been very happy with him.

But as in any relationship that was new, she had not told Gene everything. She had come to the LA area because of a past relationship that had gone sour. She had been a little uneasy telling him the truth. She had been in a relationship with another woman. Some men felt insecure with such things. But that day she had gotten a call from Bonnie her ex girlfriend. She had wanted to see her and talk.

As Bonnie came to her house that evening, she took a seat. "Lisa do you remember the land that we bought a couple of years ago? Well there is someone that wants to buy it. The land is in a good solid place and the taxes are due. They have offered us a price of fifty thousand dollars. The price seems to be quite fair and quite frankly I could use the money." she told her.

To Lisa this was a good thing. She remembered the property and had thought that when they had paid ten thousand dollars for it they were being ripped off. 'Why would someone want to pay them fifty thousand dollars for the land? It was practically in the middle of nowhere.' She thought for a moment and said "All right I will call my attorney in the morning and set up a time for us to meet about the sale." she told her.

Bonnie left happy thinking that things would work out and that she would have the money soon. She was sad that she had lost Lisa. Lisa had been the best thing that had ever happened to her, but maybe they could get back together. She would test the waters later.

Once Bonnie had left Lisa took a deep breath. She had been all right with her ex lover and had found that she no longer felt anything but friendship for her. She would call Perry Mason in the morning and set up an appointment.

Perry Mason had been surprised when Della had given him his list of appointments for the day and saw that Lisa Wallace was on his list. He hadn't seen her in almost a year and thought that she had moved to another city with her partner Bonnie. As Bonnie and Lisa came into the office Della offered them a seat. He listened intently as they explained about the land. He had handled the purchase some five years ago and was amazed at why someone would offer them fifty thousand dollars for the land. Yes he would be glad to have someone look into it and get back to them within a few days.

As the two ladies left the office Perry turned to Della and asked her to get in touch with Paul Drake. Within a few minutes Paul was at the back door knocking. As he was let in he took a seat in his favorite chair. "You rang?" he said with a smile.

Perry let him know about the land and the high offer for it. Paul said that he would get right on it and let him know what was going on as soon as he found something out. With that he left and Perry and Della went back to work.

Bonnie had been a little upset that it was going to be another few days before she had her money and told Lisa "Why don't we go up and take a look at the land? We haven't been up there in at least two years? Maybe we can find out what is going on ourselves." she told her.

That sounded good to Lisa. This had caught her interest and she too wanted to know what was going on. The two of them headed out to the land to see for themselves why someone would offer them five times what they had paid for the property just a few years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

Land in California was going up and up at an extreme rate of speed. It was possible that land that had once been purchased for just ten thousand dollars a few years ago. But, as he drove along the highway he found no new construction in the area. The land was barren and although, there was water nearby, but that was all. The land was just sitting there.

Paul came into the small town and was met by the mayor of the community. The mayor said that he had not heard anything about the land that the two women had bought a few years ago. But something about the body motions of the man told Paul that he was hiding something.

So Paul decided to take a room at the small bed and breakfast for a couple of days. The lady at the inn was a friendly lady and the inn was very nice. As Paul went downstairs to talk to the lady her husband came in the front door. Ann introduced Paul to her husband Allen and they took a seat at the kitchen table.

Paul judged the two people to be in their early sixties and they were very friendly. "This is a nice town. Have you lived here long?" he asked them.

Allen looked down at his coffee cup and said " I have lived her almost all of my life and it has been a wonderful place to live. But, now I am afraid that things could be changing. Word in town is that there has been gold found up the road in one of the old mines."

Paul tried to keep his face as straight as he could "Gold? Well that can start a rush. Where did they find it?" he asked him.

"The old mine is about three miles down the road, but under the ground there is a law here in the state that says you must own the land above. It seems that a few years ago two women bought that land. At the time they were ripped off by the mayor and his father. The land wasn't worth two thousand dollars and the women paid ten thousand dollars for it." Allen told him.

"I met them when they came into town. They knew that at one time there had been an old gold mine near there. They had found the information fascinating. But they said that they liked to dig in old dumps and there was a big one located on the property. They stayed here and showed us several old bottles and some pottery. " Ann told Paul.

With this Paul decided that he was going to head out to the property and see what was going on in the area. He knew that the other property must be close by and he wanted to know if there was someone down in the old mining trying to find gold. As he drove out to the site, he found a jeep parked in front of what was the front of the mine. But as he got out of his car he was met by a man holding a gun. "What are you doing here stranger?"

Paul did his best to act as though the gun did not bother him "I am here about the land that Bonnie James and Lisa Wallace. They were offered a large sum of money for their property and I am here to find out why." he told them.

"Well this land is our land and you are not supposed to be here. There is a no trespassing sign plainly posted at the bottom of the hill." the man told him still holding the gun in a threatening way.

"Since I am here about the purchase of property, don't you think that you should put the gun down?" Paul asked him.

Just then the mayor of the town came around the corner and said "Dad put away that gun. This is the man who we will be buying the land from. Hello Mr. Drake." he said and reached out to shake Paul's hand.

Paul thought of how the mayor had told him that he knew nothing about what was going on out there and there he was standing next to his father who still had a shotgun loaded and ready to shoot in a heartbeat. "I have been sent out to find out about the property and report to the two women. I will let you know of their decision in a few days." he told them.

Paul got into his car and was thinking quickly. 'It was true that the gold mine entrance was on the land that apparently belonged to the mayor and his father, but there must be more gold under the women's land. He needed to contact a geologist.' he thought to himself as he headed back to the bed and breakfast.

When Paul got back to his room he placed a call to Perry. He told him about the mayor and his father and the old mine. "If the land does have gold and most of the gold is located under the girl's land, the land could be worth many times the offering price of fifty thousand dollars."

Perry listened intently and said that he would contact a specialist. Once the call was done he turned to Della Street his right hand and confidential secretary and asked her to find the number of his friend Doctor Robert Kennedy.

As Perry spoke to is friend Doctor Kennedy agreed to go out to the area the next day. He would have the information for Perry within a matter of a week.

Perry hung up the phone and called Paul Paul was more than happy to get a room for the doctor at the bed and breakfast. Perry sat back in his chair and picked up the phone. He did not reach Lisa or Bonnie in person so he left a message on both of their answering machines.

But Bonnie and Lisa had decided to go into the town themselves and they were on their way. They wanted to know what was happening.


	3. Chapter 3

Bonnie and Lisa had decided to leave for their property early the next morning. They knew that Perry Mason was looking into things also and just wanted to see the property for themselves. When they had come to see the land, they had bought it as an investment property. At the time property in the area was being developed at a high rate of speed and they had thought that their property would someday be built on it. They had contemplated building on the property themselves. But life had happened and they were not a couple any longer.

In the meantime Paul had spent a wonderful night at the bed and breakfast and had helped himself to a large breakfast that Ann cooked for him. He was expecting Dr. Kennedy that day and so he spent most of the day working on his computer. He wanted to know more about this mayor Grant Jenkins and his father Jared.

The land that they were now working on had been in their family for the past forty years. Jared had been somewhat of a joke around town as he had always claimed that there was still gold in the mine. For the most part the people of town thought of Jared as a strange man with no common sense at all. They had laughed at him as he had gone to the mine day after day. That was until six months ago when he had found gold.

The gold had been verified at the bank and all of a sudden everyone in the town had gold fever. This had made the land that the women owned worth a lot of money. The gold could very well have continued onto their property and now the mayor and his father wanted to buy the land that the women couldn't have given away a year ago. Paul was waiting to hear from Dr. Kennedy on what he would find on the property itself.

Dr. Kennedy had been working on a project for a local university when he had gotten the call from Perry Mason. He had just turned forty-five years old and was looking for something different in his life. His project at the at the University would wait. This sounded interesting to him. The possibility of gold being in these hills had always posed an interest to him and he would have to go up to the land and take a look for himself.

As Dr. Kennedy drove the long hot drive up to the property, he listened on his tape recorder all the information on the land that surrounded the mine and the mine itself. The gold mine had been dug for almost twenty years and had just not brought anything of significance for years before closing in the early twentieth century. The mine had not brought out anything of significance until six moths ago when a man named Jared Jenkins had claimed that he had found gold. He had brought the gold to the local bank and had been bringing it in for the past several months. It did appear that he had found a new vein. But, where was this vein located?

Paul met with Dr. Kennedy and the two men went up to the property. Paul was surprised to find the two women Lisa and Bonnie there already. On the property there was indeed another entrance to the gold mine. This entrance had not been used in almost a century and was very dangerous. But Dr. Kennedy went to work checking the land around the girl's land.

"You don't have to stay and watch, this will take me days." he told them. "As soon as I find something I will come to the bed and breakfast and let you know what I found out." he told them.

Lisa and Bonnie were both very disappointed, but it was very hot out there in the desert and they both needed a break from the heat. There was no shade anywhere but under the rocks and they were both tired. Paul Drake elected to stay with the Doctor because of the dangerous mine entrance that they had been attempting to shore up and use.

But as Dr. Kennedy and Paul began to work it was not long before they discovered that someone had indeed been in the mine recently, very recently. The appearance of the entrance to the mine had been staged. There was evidence that someone had been there as they continued through the mine. Then they could hear the sounds of someone at work. Dr. Kennedy had a gps system on him to keep track of his location and knew from the sounds that the digging was taking place on the women's land.

As Paul and Dr. Kennedy went down the narrow corridor they listened intently to the sounds. As they stood at one of the corners they knew that someone was mining within a few feet from them. Paul turned on his video camera and recorder and came around the corner catching Jared Jenkins by surprise. He didn't have his gun by his side and was no match for the younger and stronger Paul Drake.

As the three men came out of the mine entrance, Paul confronted the older man. "You do know that you are guilty of stealing from this property? You are going to have to answer the questions of the police." Paul put the man in the car and turned to start towards the Doctor, but the doctor waved to him and said he wanted to go back into the mine.

Paul went back to the town and brought Jared to the police station. He there explained that Jared had been on the property that was located next to their property and that his gold had been taken from them. The police officer took the report and arrested Jared Jenkisn..

Dr. Kennedy had been working on the mine for just a few minutes when he heard a car pull up. He thought that Paul was coming back. It was the last thing that he thought or saw. Without warning he was struck by a shovel and died of a fractured skull.


	4. Chapter 4

Perry Mason had been at work at his desk all day and had been wondering what Dr. Kennedy had found at the mine. Paul had called and told Della and him that he had told him that he didn't want to be disturbed and would let them know when he found something. It was late and once again he had found himself working past six again.

Paul had been busy at the county records office and had now arrived at the bed and breakfast. He had been able to find out who had owned the property before the two women . The mayor had sold the property Ann and Allen from the bed and breakfast. The mine entrance that was located on the land had not been used since the year 1915.

Lisa and Bonnie had been waiting anxiously all day for the news on the mine. Bonnie had left for a while and done some shopping, but other than that they had both been waiting all day. They had been a nervous wreck wondering about the land and the money that they could have. But as the day turned into dusk and Dr. Kennedy was not around, Paul became concerned.

By eight that evening the doctor had not shown up and Paul decided to go up to the mine and check on him. As he pulled up to the property he found Dr. Kennedy's car still in the same place that it had been when Paul had left him earlier that afternoon. As Paul went into the mine he called his name and got no response. As he came around the corner he found Dr. Kennedy dead and the shovel lying next to him.

That was when Paul immediately went out to his car and called the police. He knew that Dr. Kennedy had been murdered and that it had been a while because of the condition of his body. As he met with the police he went down to the mine once more and showed them where Dr. Kennedy had been. The police took many pictures and called the coroner.

In the meantime Paul went back to his car and placed a call to Perry Mason. Perry and Della had just started out the door when the phone rang. Della and Perry turned and Della picked up the phone. Paul was on the phone and as she handed the phone to Perry his expression changed quickly. He told Paul. "All right keep me in touch please"

Della looked at her boss as he hung up the phone and said "Dr. Kennedy has been murdered. Paul found him in the mine on Bonnie and Lisa's property. The police are with him right now. They think he was murdered somewhere around three hours ago."

Della was surprised and upset by the news. She and Perry had been friends with Dr. Kennedy for years. She knew his wife and children . She would be giving them a call. 'What a terrible thing.' she thought to herself.

When Paul finally got back to the bed and breakfast he found Lisa and Bonnie along with Ann and Allen. Word of the murder had spread like wildfire through the small town. There had not been a murder in the town since the 1930's.

Paul was now in investigative mode full time. He had seen that some of the material that Dr. Kennedy had been working on in his car. But, the police now had the car in their custody. Paul had asked the police to make sure that the material that the Doctor had put in the car were tested. The examples might give them an idea for the motive for the murders.

Police Chief Craig Patch had been busy all day looking into the murder. He had called in the state police to help him and his department do the investigation properly. There was now the problem of the murder along with the claim of gold being out here once again. He had grown up in the town and had heard the many stories of the gold that was still out here in the barren part of town. But he had never believed it. That was until the mayor and his father had come to the bank carrying gold.

Jared Jenkins was a worried man. He had seen the body. Oh he didn't kill that doctor. Why would he do that? But someone had killed him, and he knew that he and his son Grant were going to be prime suspects. He knew that Paul was going to tell him how he had caught him doing some mining on the women's property. But, he and his son had offered a fair price for the property. After all, he was not sure if the property had gold or not.

As Jared walked up and down the living room he saw Grant coming up the driveway. Jared was sure that his son knew all about the murder. He also knew that he had seen his father trespassing on the women's property. He was sure that Grant thought that he had been the one who had killed Dr. Kennedy..

As the mayor of the small town Grant Jenkins was now a nervous man himself. His father had been telling everyone around town about his discovery of gold on their property and now there had been a murder. As he took a seat on the couch he asked his father "Dad I need to know did you kill that man?"

Jared laughed "Why on Earth would I do that ? Of course not. But the trouble is I did see the body . I panicked and didn't tell anyone. He must have been killed sometime around four. I left at five and didn't see him. I didn't see any other cars either. That road is a long and dusty one and if there had been someone on the road I would have seen them." Jared told his son.

Jus then the mayor and his father heard a car in the driveway. It was the state police and they were there to ask the two men some tough questions.


	5. Chapter 5

As the police got out of the cruiser to talk to the men Jared opened the door. Both he and his son tried their best to act casual as the officers took their seats together on the chairs across from them.

The officers read them their rights and like fools they waved those rights. It was quite obvious from the beginning, though that they were the prime suspects in the murder. Jared and Grant both thought that they had little to worry about as they were innocent. But as the questions turned harder and harder the two of them started to worry.

"We have information that you Jared were at the mine all day. The properties that you and the women own are adjoining and I have been up there for the past several hours. You can hear a car as it comes down the road for almost ten minutes before it comes. You must have at least seen something or heard something ." Officer Don Grady asked of him.

"On a normal day there is little to no traffic on the road, but lately there has been a lot. We have had the woman, an investigator for an attorney, the doctor and whoever else would happen along. I did hear a car but assumed it was one of the people that I mentioned. I was way down in the mine shaft and did not go up to look." Jared told them.

It was then that the officers turned their attention to Grant. "Have you been by the mine this afternoon at all?" they asked.

"Actually, today was a rare day for me. I had been at budget meetings all afternoon long. I did not hear anything from anyone until a friend of mine came into the meeting room and told me of the murder." Grant told them.

"So you never left the room?" the officer asked.

"No. The room was full of people, too. I had nothing to do with the murder officer." he told him.

As the father and son watched the police officers leave they breathed a sigh of relief. But, who did murder the doctor? "You know that they are going to find out that we have planting the gold on the site." Grant told his father.

"Oh cut it out. They aren't going to know anything. It was a stupid idea, trying to get the women's land to sell for so much money. Then we were going to sell shares to the mine. Allen would have found out soon enough and he was not going to be happy. Now this man Dr. Kennedy has been murdered and the state police are involved. Just what we need." Jared told him. "What were we thinking?"

Meanwhile Paul was trying to get the information on the things that were in the car that had been put in there by Dr. Kennedy. He was beginning to wonder if there really was gold in that mine or not. Something was strange, but the doctor had said nothing to him.

Paul was very suspicious of the mayor and his father. They had been out there virtually the laughing stock of the community for years. Then one day he strikes gold. Paul wanted to look into the mayor and his father's finances.

Perry Mason was back at his office where he and Della were doing some investigating of their own. He knew that Dr. Kennedy must have found something out that had made him the victim of a murder. They were working on another case when the call had come in. Lisa Wallace had been arrested under suspicion of murder.

Perry Mason advised her not to speak to anyone until he got there and stood up from his desk. Della looked up at her boss and knew that he was onto another case. Perry thought for a minute. The drive out to that town was a long one and he could use Della to help at the courthouse the following day. There would be a hearing for bail .

Della smiled as Perry waved her to come with him. She needed the break from the office. She hadn't been out on an investigation in weeks and she was in the mood for one now. As Perry and Della got into the convertible Della tied a scarf around her head. She knew that her hair was going to be a mess when she got there.

Della and Perry were always prepared for a trip that they might have to take without notice and as Della went by her car, she reached into the trunk. There in the trunk was a packed suitcase. She was a woman ready willing and able to help her friend and boss out with an investigation once more.

The ride to the small town was a long and hot one for the two of them. But the bed and breakfast was lovely. Perry dropped Della off at the bed and breakfast and then headed out to the state police barracks.

He spoke to the officer at the desk and was taken to a small room. Within a few minutes Lisa came into the room scared and shaking. She looked as though she had not been able to rest since she had been arrested.

Perry asked her what had happened to have the police think that she was guilty of murder?"

Lisa was ashamed of herself. She had gone to the mine that afternoon and had heard Dr. Kennedy and another man arguing down in the mine. She thought that it was Jared. But she had been frightened by the man when he had pulled a gun and left. "My car was seen on the road by a young man that lives in town sometime around the murder. The police didn't listen to me about Jared. They said that he had already been questioned. My fingerprints were found on the shovel, too. I don't remember touching the shovel, but I must have at some point. Now they say that the doctor found no gold in the mine and that I killed him from revealing that. They think I killed him over the fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Mason I didn't kill anyone."

Perry looked at her and believed her. "All right Lisa I will represent you. Tomorrow morning there will be a bail hearing and you will be out on bail. But, you will have to stay here until trial." he told her and it was on to the case at hand.


	6. Chapter 6

Della Street knew her boss better than anyone and when Perry had come into the bed and breakfast, he found her busy with the paperwork that needed to be completed before court in the morning.

The courtroom would be crowded with spectators and Perry would want each and everyone of them identified. Each person that comes to a court case has a reason. He was a stranger in town, who was known for his courtroom dramatics. That would account for many of them coming to court, but some were there for more sinister reasons and those were the people that he was interested in. He would have his trusted friends Della Street and Paul Drake there to take note of everyone that came and went that day.

Bonnie James had been very upset about what was going on there in this small town. She knew that Lisa did not kill anyone. But, now there was going to be no money for them either. No one would want this land now. She was sure that with all of the police hanging around the mine and the murder that the mayor and his son were the murderers.

The land that Lisa and Bonnie now owned was worth a lot of money, but now it could be years before anyone saw any of it. They could have made a quick forty thousand dollars and walked away happy. Now an innocent man had been murdered. 'But why would he be murdered?' He was just checking the mine out. Oh please don't tell me that there is no gold in there' Bonnie thought to herself.

Lisa was in the jail now just sitting there trying to figure out why Dr. Kennedy had been killed. there was only one logical reason and she was afraid to think about it. Whoever had killed the doctor had been trying to stop him from revealing something. The only thing that made any sense was that he had found out that there was no gold in that old mine after all. She was now sitting in a jail cell and was going to have a hefty fee to a lawyer. She wasn't going to be able to sell the land if it turned out there was no gold either. She just sat there feeling like she could cry.

Paul Drake was just settling in to wait for a chance to talk to the mayor once again. He had been avoiding him like the plague and he had some questions for the man. The man was not being truthful to anyone and he wanted to know the whole scoop.

Finally after many hours of waiting Paul got to talk to Grant. Grant welcomed Paul into the office and showed him a chair. As the mayor took a seat he decided to come clean. He knew that everyone in town would know about the fake gold that he and his father had been planting. He wanted Paul Drake to stop hanging around his office.

"Mr. Drake my father and I never meant for anything like this to happen. We needed the land that the women had bought for an easier access road to our property. We were hoping to one day build on the property. But, their land comes with something even more precious than gold in this area. It has an underground stream that misses our property by over one hundred yards. We need that water to ever build on our land. We hoped that by spreading the word that gold had been found on our land it would get someone to buy the land off of the women. But no one did. We had to come up with the money anyways. I told my father many times that we should have just come clean about the need for the water, but he wouldn't listen. The people of the town have been laughing at him about his fool's gold. If he admitted that this was not gold from the mine, he thought that he would have to leave town. We did nothing, but try to buy the land. We never told the women that there was gold on it. They found out and called in this Dr. Kennedy. I wish that I knew who killed him. But, we have no idea." Grant told Paul He took a breath of relief and looked at him. Something about the story made sense and he believed him.

Paul thanked the man and left the office. What he had thought was true. There was no gold up in those hills. So, why was the Doctor murdered? This did not make any sense at all. As he went back to the bed and breakfast he came over to see his friends Perry and Della. The two were working on the hearing that was to be held in the morning. As he took a seat in the chair across the room from them they both looked up from their work.

"Did you have any luck today Paul?" Perry asked his friend.

That is when Paul informed them both about what the mayor had told them. Perry shook his head in agreement and knew that what the mayor had said was indeed true. But, this did nothing to help their case, it could be seen as a good reason for Lisa to kill the doctor. The prosecution could say that because of what the doctor had found Lisa stood to lose the fifty thousand dollar offer. After all the doctor was not allowed onto the property of the mayor and his father.

-Eugene Barber had gotten a call from Lisa. The poor girl was in jail and charged with murder. Lisa could not hurt a fly, never mind murder someone. He needed to get to her and help her. She had told him about the bed and breakfast. He called and reached Ann . Yes they had one more room but now were booked. The inn was full and it was full of people all involved in the murder. 'Good he thought to himself. He wanted to find out what had happened and clear his girlfriend. As he walked into the bed and breakfast he was met by Paul Drake who had a couple of questions for him.


	7. Chapter 7

The people at the inn were all involved in the case now and Della and Perry were going to use their experience to watch them as they went through the turmoil of the murder and the trial to come.

Perry Mason was sure that something was not settling right. If there was no gold as the mayor had said why would someone want Dr. Kennedy dead? It had to be someone who stood to lose from his findings. Eugene Barber was someone that he now found to be a person of interest. He understood that the young man had been seeing Lisa and that he wanted to be supportive of her. ' But, had he discovered something?' he wondered

Lisa was doing all right with her life since she and Bonnie had split up. But Bonnie had found herself to be in a financial situation. Bonnie did not have someone to help her out as Lisa did. The property was worth money now. She would have no reason to want the man dead. He would have finished his findings and she might have been even richer. So why would she want him dead

Then there was the mayor and his father. They had the most to gain by the doctor's death. But the mayor had indeed been in a meeting all day. The father had been seen in town that afternoon also. Jared had been at the mechanics shop waiting for his car to be repaired during the murder. Perry wanted Paul to look into that. Perhaps he did leave, but it would have been at least an hour for him to go out to the mine and back. He was sure if he was gone that long the mechanic would have noticed it.

But then nearly everyone in town knew about the gold. Perhaps one of them had been interested and were thinking about the profits that could be made from the land that the girls owned. He would have Paul check around town and see what the people had to say.

Paul Drake had been busy talking to the people in town. He went to the bank where the bank manager assured him that that the gold had been given to him was indeed real gold that had not been processed. With what the mayor and his father had shown him, he was sure that the property was worth a great deal of money. He had the gold checked with the most of responsible professors and the gold had been verified. "If this mine is indeed going to produce this town could become a bustling metropolis once again. "Once the mines closed this town almost became a ghost town." Mr. Stevens told Paul.

Paul knew that the original owners of the land had been the owners of the inn Ann and Allen. He wondered if they would have had the time to go out and see the good doctor that day. He was going to have ask around the inn. He was pretty sure that Ann had been there busy all day, but Allen might have left for about an hour when he was gone.

But the next day was court and Perry and Della were very busy getting subpoenas and legal documents ready for the court. It was one thing that Perry Mason was known for. That was finding out who the murderer was before the case went to full trial. There were several people who had the motive and the opportunity to keep Dr. Kennedy from telling the truth and each and everyone of them needed to be in the courtroom tomorrow morning.

Paul spoke to Dr. Kennedy's partner who had not been given access to the information on the samples that Dr. Kennedy had taken from the mine. This puzzled Paul as the man was a very respected member of his specialty. He would be there to testify as to what the Doctor had been there to do and such and had no problem in going to court in the morning.

After all of the subpoenas had been served both Ann and Allen were surprised to find that they were on the list. Breakfast that morning was a little tense. Allen and Ann were nervous. Perry explained that they were just there to verify some information and that court would not be more than a couple of days. "Besides, all of your guests are going to be at court anyways."

As Perry Paul and Della came into the strange courtroom they were greeted by Lisa. She was dressed well in a grey suit and had done her hair and nails. As she sat down next to them at the desk she looked up at Mr. Mason with begging eyes.

Perry took his hand and patted her on the elbow. "Everything is going to be all right Lisa I promise."

Lisa looked over to Della who smiled at her and stood up as the court went in session and the judge entered the room. The judge was a woman in her fifties who had the kind of face that was very hard to read. She looked down at Lisa with soul seeking eyes.

Perry had never met the prosecutor before two days ago. His name was Clark Reeves and was known for winning cases. He was honored to be challenged by the famous Perry Mason. But, he was going to find this lady guilty. he had warned him.

The first witness that the prosecutor called was Dr. Wright. He was a well known professor and was familiar with Dr. Kennedy and his work. As he went over what he had found in the gold mine, he had a big surprise for Mr. Mason. Dr. Kennedy had indeed discovered gold and there was evidence that it was a large vein. The women's land was worth literally millions of dollars.

This changed everything as far as Perry Mason was concerned. He had thought that the land was worthless. The mayor and his father nearly fell over as they heard this, but Della could not help but notice the looks on Ann and Allen's face. They almost looked as though they weren't surprised at all.


	8. Chapter 8

As the prosecutor brought in the medical examiner Perry listened intently to the what the man had to say. Dr. Kennedy had been struck from behind and had not turned to see who had come into the mine. He was sure that Dr. Kennedy had heard the person who approached him. Whoever it was must have answered his call when he heard them.

The man had died almost immediately and had more than probably never had any consciousness after the strike to the head. "Yes a lady could have done that. A woman of normal strength could have done it." he testified.

The next witness to come to the stand was Allen from the bed and breakfast. He was nervous being questioned by the prosecutor but testified to the truth Mason thought. He said that he and his wife had purchased the land years ago and when the bed and breakfast had needed a lot of work to keep it up to the new codes, they had sold the land. "No we never went into the old mine." he said.

As with many cases Perry Mason had asked that Ann not be in the courtroom while her husband was testifying. She came in after Allen was through and was sworn in herself. She too appeared to be somewhat nervous. Yes she had owned the land and sold it with her husband to the two women. No she never went in the old mine. It had been abandoned for years and she thought that it was too dirty and dangerous. But when asked about the sale of the property to the two women she said "I did not want to sell the land. I hoped that we could build our dream home there someday. Allen had insisted on selling it against my better judgement."

'Was this the cause of discourse between the two?' Perry wondered. He looked over at Della who was taking many notes and saw that she had thoughts on the same issue that he did. They would talk about it during the break.

With the testimony of each witness taking over a half an hour it was time for a lunch break. The judge called for a tour hour break and the reconvening of the case to start at two that afternoon.

Perry had sent Paul out to find out more information on the gold. Someone knew that the gold was there in the mine and Dr. Kennedy had been killed so that no one else would find out. 'But who?' he thought. 'Who would know gold and how to identify it?"

Della and Perry headed out to have some lunch near the courthouse. When they were in a strange town sometimes it was hard finding a good place, but they had been told about a little luncheonette just down the street where the food was good. As they took their seat at the table they looked around. There were many people there with them who had been at the court house. Perry never discussed a case when there was such a crowd within an ears range. So he and Della enjoyed a quiet lunch together.

As they arrived back at the courthouse Della and Perry were met by Paul Drake. He had some interesting things to tell him. "Perry I have been looking into who would know something about gold and the identification of the real thing. It turns out that there are two men in town that know about the mineral besides the mayor and his father. One is Allen from the bed and breakfast and the bank manager Bruce Stevens."

Perry had thought about the banker. The gold would be brought into the bank in the form that one would find gold in when it came out of a mine. Jared and his son Grant weren't the only ones that had something to gain from people being unaware that there was gold in the mine. But Perry had seen their faces when the truth was told and the look of shock on their faces told him that they did not know.

"Paul I want you to look into the bank manager up and down. Let me know anything that you find out. Then I want to have you look into Allen also. Check everything on those two men . I think one of them is guilty of murder." Perry told him.

As the court reconvened Della and Perry took their seats. The next witness was Jared Jenkins. He looked different in a suit and tie, but looked uncomfortable on the stand. He was fidgeting with his collar and this made Perry Mason smile. As Jared mumbled and had to be told several times to speak up he admitted what he had been up to. "I was just going to try to get rid of some land that was costing me a lot of money and land that I thought was worth nothing." he told the court.

"Yes, but are you trying to tell the court that even though you had gone into the property that belonged to the two women you had not discovered the gold?" the prosecutor demanded.

Jared was really embarrassed about that. He actually knew nothing really about gold . He had often wondered if he would recognize it. Now he knew the gold nearly came up and bit him and he didn't know it. He answered "Yes sir. It is the truth I swear it."

Now it was Perry Mason's turn to ask the questions and he had a couple for the man "Mr. Jenkins were you there at the mine on the day of the murder?"

"Yes, but I left after your man Paul left." Jared answered.

"When you left could you hear the Doctor working in his part of the mine?"

"Yes." he told him.

"Is there any other way that someone could get to the mine besides your entrance or the mine that Dr. Kennedy was working in?" Mason asked him.

"No. Those are the only two entrances." Jared told him.

"That is all . " Mason answered.

In the meantime Paul Drake was busy looking into his banker friend. It was then that he learned that the man had been gone almost the entire afternoon on the day of the murder. When he had come back to the bank he had been nursing a cut on the hand. Paul wanted more information and finally found it. The banker had made an offer on the women's property after the mayor had made the offer. He had written up the offer and his secretary had a copy of it. He was offering the girls one hundred thousand dollars for the land.


	9. Chapter 9

But by the time the court reconvened that afternoon Paul had his answers. He had to get to the courthouse and tell Perry. As he was approaching an intersection a car pulled out in front of him abruptly. From the intersection on that car did it's best to knock Paul off the road. But Paul was the better driver and as the car tried to crash into his side once again Paul slammed on the brakes.

The combination of the car abruptly stopping and the other cars attempts to slam into the side and cause Paul to go off the side of the road and into a deep ravine, proved too much for the other car. Paul watched in horror as the other car lost control and went over the guard rails. Paul stopped his car and ran to the side of the road but the car was very deep in the ravine.

On the side of the road was a young man who had managed to jump from the vehicle moments before it had gone down the hill. He was scraped up pretty bad and Paul got on his car phone to call in the accident.

As Paul went to confront the young man who had just tried to kill him, the man made a feeble attempt to escape him. Paul just smiled at the man. It was a mean smile, one that told the young man that he was caught and was now going to talk. Paul wanted to know who had hired him to murder him and he wanted an answer now.

Back at the courthouse Perry Mason was busy asking many people some hard questions. But, he was worried about Paul. Paul was supposed to have met him at the courthouse before court convened in the afternoon and it was now three thirty and he had heard nothing.

The prosecution had brought forth different people from town who testified about the old gold mine. Monroe Patch's father had worked in the mine many years ago. "Everyone in town has gone to the property at one time hoping to find gold. As far as I have ever heard though, no one has ever been successful. Jared had always been sort of a laughing stock."

Perry got up from his seat and walked over to the elderly man. "Do you know anyone in town that might know something about mining and the gold that was still in that mine? Is there anyone else alive that knew someone who worked in the mine?" he asked the man.

"Oh of course there are. The mine did not close until, let me see, oh I believe the last of the workers were laid off in 1909. Most of the people in town that are over thirty knew someone that had a relative that worked there at one time. It was the town's largest employer. As kids everyone went up there. As adults some of us went up there every once in a while. Like I said we found nothing, though as far as I know." With that the man stood down from the witness stand.

Perry was starting to get nervous. Without Paul and any information that he could find out, al Perry was doing was stalling. He had nothing that could tie anyone to the murder and he was getting desperate.

But Paul was about to find out the truth from the frightened young man. The man's name was Mike Baronas and he had been paid well to scare Paul Drake hopefully out of town. Paul convinced him that the man who had hired him was obviously dangerous and that if he testified at the murder trial Perry Mason would help him to get his charges reduced. "I will not press charges against you myself if you will come and testify." Paul promised the man.

As Perry was busy in the courtroom listening to more testimony he heard the door open. There stood Paul and a man who looked as though he had been in some kind of accident. Perry asked the court for a moment and spoke to Paul. He shook his head and looked up as Bruce Stevens and Allen were beginning to make a move toward the door. Perry motioned for the bailiff to keep them in the courtroom.

It was there on the witness stand that the young man told the court his story. "I was paid by Mr. Stevens ten thousand dollars to frighten Paul Drake into leaving the investigation alone. He and the man that runs the bed and breakfast wanted you and Mr. Drake out of town."

"Do you know why?" Perry asked him.

"No. I am not sure, but I heard it was because they wanted to buy the mine cheap from those women." he told him. With that the young man was asked to stand down but not to leave the courtroom.

Perry Mason got up and asked to have Bruce Stevens brought up to the witness stand. "Why did you hire someone to kill Paul Drake?" Perry demanded.

With that Bruce Stevens did his best to deny it. "You can't prove a thing. That kid hasn't got two pennies to rub together. I have never talked to him except to nod my head in years." he told the court.

"Oh I think that you are lying Mr. Stevens. I think that you knew that the gold that Jared was bringing to the bank was not from that mine. But you got curious and went down to see if there was gold there for real. I say that you found the gold vein and wanted to purchase the land for yourself.

"That is a lie and you can't prove a thing." he countered.

"Ob but I can. I have a bill of sale that was typed up at your office . It is an offer of one hundred thousand dollars for the land." With that Mr. Mason showed the paper to the court and asked it to be marked as evidence.

With that Bruce Stevens admitted to what had happened. "I just meant to knock him out, but I hit him too hard. We were going to be rich. Allen and I were going to go into business together and open the mine again. For one hundred thousand dollars we were going to be multi millionaires. If it wasn't for those two women things would have been all right."

With that Lisa was released and now a free woman. Everyone shook hands and congratulated each other. Allen was going to face probably no charges because Paul had promised that he would not press charges. Everyone was happy and ready to go back to the office in LA once again.


End file.
